Catherine Daniel Ceramics

Hello and welcome to my blog where I share some of the thought processes and textile/quilting inspirations behind my ceramic art, and occasionally other random topics!
For more details and pictures of my ceramic creations, please see my website -

catherinedanielceramics.com



Friday 6 May 2011

France along the back roads

So, we loaded up the fridge and freezer full to bursting, left the young people to it, and me and the hubby hopped on a ferry to Northern France for a short break just after Easter. We kept to the quiet back roads and investigated places we had never been before.

Like Amiens. Badly damaged during the war, it is now a wonderful mix of old and new. The cathedral is absolutely wonderful, with fantastic stained glass windows.

There are lovely walks along the canal-sides of the old town.

We moved on from there, pottering around other medieval towns and villages. I just love all that Gothic architecture you get in France and Germany.

I put in down to all those Fairy Tales I was read as a child. Every time I see a tower with a turret, I think of Rumplestiltskin, or Rapunzel letting down her golden hair so that the prince could climb up and rescue her... Ouch!



I never did get my castle with turrets ....

... or the beautiful long golden hair, for that matter...

But I did get my handsome prince .... kind of.

We had a great time.
Now, though, I am going to visit all of you to see what you've been up to.


Weren't some of those Fairy Tales just plain weird?
No wonder we all grew up slightly bonkers!

16 comments:

  1. Looks like you had a good time.
    I am a Fairy Tale fan, just love them.
    Does that mean you can speak German then? How I envy you if you can. I've struggled for years, and I'm no further forward now. Must make a concerted effort.
    Have a great weekend.
    Oh and yes, we do live in a nice part, and not many people speak English!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Welcome home - hope you had a lovely restful holiday.

    ReplyDelete
  3. You got to go away... just the two of you - how lovely. Looks like you had a great time.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love France but normally we just drive straight through Northern France onto pastures South, maybe we should stay a while it looks lovely.
    Gillx

    ReplyDelete
  5. We just love pootling around Northern France.Glad you enjoyed it.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Beautiful pictures and no doubt lots of inspiration for artistic endeavours!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I do think we all grew up with slightly unrealistic dreams..but if you can't dream as a kid, when can you! They are amazing turreted buildings in your photo..really the domain of fairy tales.

    ReplyDelete
  8. France is just beautiful! hope you had a wonderful time over there!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Looking at those photos reminded me of when I visited Neuschanstein castle in Bavaria, Germany with my parents when I was a child. It appeared briefly in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and was stunning. Thank you for sharing your lovely snaps x

    ReplyDelete
  10. Good to meet you! Looks like you had a holiday in a relaxing place. I wish I'd seen that great giveaway earlier! Your pieces are lovely.

    My baby is 16, too & our videos are exactl the same except for the one with Ann on it owing to having 3 lads ;) They've gone, the videos that is, to the supermarket charity bookshelf...., quite a wrench!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Sounds as if you had the perfect getaway for a few days Catherine with a spot of daydreaming thrown in too. Promise I'll reply to your email tommorow.

    Lisa

    ReplyDelete
  12. Thanks for stopping by! Fun to make new blog friends. It looks like you had a superb vacation. I'm very impressed with your pottery too. Wow.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Thanks for visiting and leaving such a lovely comment..........love your work, your pottery is amazing. Beautiful images of France too.
    lily x

    ReplyDelete
  14. Ive just booked to go to France in October - i'll have to stick Amiens on the list. It looks so interesting. x

    ReplyDelete
  15. I say that most nights about the fairy tales the girls ask me to read. Mr OC is thinking about a cull of certain books as they are just a bit too bonkers. Pictures are wonderful and it sounds like heaven to escape for the weekend. Hope the house was in one piece when you got back.

    ReplyDelete